Johnson v. Young
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-01621
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Johnson v. Young, Judge Swain dismissed Robert W. Johnson’s action without prejudice because he filed without required permission.
Robert W. Johnson’s new civil action was dismissed without prejudice, and his request to proceed without paying filing fees on appeal was denied. Eric J. Young and Michael H. Hurwitz were named as defendants, but the opinion does not address the underlying claims against them.
What happened
In Johnson v. Young, Robert W. Johnson filed a new civil action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying filing fees. A 2020 court order required him to obtain permission before filing any new civil action in the court without paying those fees.
Johnson had not asked for that permission. The court dismissed the action without prejudice because he did not comply with the earlier order. It also denied his request to proceed without paying filing fees on appeal and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on February 27, 2025. She certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith, for purposes of denying fee-free appellate status.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. Young · No. 1:25-cv-01621
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 27, 2025
Background
Robert W. Johnson filed this new civil action against Eric J. Young and Michael H. Hurwitz. The opinion states that Johnson is representing himself and requested permission to proceed without paying filing fees.
In a prior order dated July 10, 2020, the court barred Johnson from filing any new civil action in the Southern District of New York without paying filing fees unless he first obtained leave, meaning permission, from the court. Johnson did not seek that permission before filing this action.
Ruling
The court dismissed the action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 because Johnson failed to comply with the earlier court order. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against Young or Hurwitz.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Johnson permission to proceed without paying filing fees for an appeal. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.